In this page, you can find the most reliable
information about Rogaine.
After reading this Rogaine review,you
will be much more informed, and you will be able to determine if
Rogaine good for you or not. Remember:
knowledge is power! Make your own Rogaine review after considering all
the information here. In this
Rogaine review, you can find some sound information about those issues:

What is Rogaine?

Chemical formula

Who should use Rogaine?

Who should NOT use Rogaine?

Rogaine side
effects

What is good
with Rogaine?

What is bad
with Rogaine?

What
is Rogaine?

Minoxidil (commercial
names are Rogaine ® and Regaine ®) is a powerful direct-acting peripheral vasodilator.
It reduces peripheral resistance and produces a fall in blood pressure.
Thus, it was originally produced as an anti-hypertensive agent. Then,
the scientist discovered that rogaine pills caused increase in body
hair as a side-effect. Following this, numerous studies showed topical
Rogaine's ability to slow down hair loss and promote hair regrowth.
Today, Rogaine is one of two medications which have FDA approval for
treatment of androgenic hair loss (the other one is Propecia).

Chemical formula

Minoxidil occurs as a white to off-white, odorless,
crystalline solid that is soluble in water, is readily soluble in
propylene glycol or ethanol, and is almost insoluble in acetone,
chloroform or ethyl acetate. The chemical name for minoxidil is
2,4-pyrimidinediamine, 6-(1-piperidinyl)-, 3-oxide. Its chemical
formula is below:

Who
should use Rogaine?

Men: Rogaine is used to treat
male pattern baldness in patients who are experiencing gradually
thinning hair on the top of the head. Rogaine is not meant for baldness
due to some conditions which are known to cause hair loss (e.g., iron
deficiency or medications such as cancer chemotherapy)

Women: Rogaine for women works
for many women at the earlier stages of hair loss. Actually, some
recent studies have shown that Rogaine works better for slowing down
hair loss in women than it does for men

Who
should NOT use Rogaine?

Anyone
who is allergic to minoxidil or to any of the ingredients of the
solution

Some users do experience certain problems such as
scalp irritation, itching, and dandruff. However, this can be treated
with a good shampoo.

Some user reported an increase in
hair shedding at the start of the treatment. It is just
temporary, and treatment should not be stopped. Indeed, this may
actually be a signal that the treatment is working.

Due to the medication’s alcohol content, some users
may develop a contact rash or irritated skin.

Because systemic absorption of topically applied
drug may occur, some users may experience dizziness or a rapid heart
beat with excessive doses. However, with normal use these effects are
uncommon.

A
minority of Rogaine users experience “hypertrichosis”
problem. This is
hair growth on the face or other bodily areas. This side
effect appears in about 3-5 % of women who use the 2% solution, and
higher among women using the 5% solution. In this case, the treatment
should be stopped.

What
is good with Rogaine?

It
is proven, not bogus: There are many scientific studies
about Rogaine. Most of them show that Rogaine is good for hair
regrowth. Sometimes, the results are so impressive. Thus, FDA approved
its usage for hair loss. Most of the other medicines and methods out
there have no such a proof showing their efficacy. If you believe
science, it is logical to choose a legitimate medicine, instead of
unproven ones which many of them are just bogus.

No
gender difference: Rogaine is used for both men (2% or 5%)
and women (2% only). Other FDA-approved medicine Propecia is not
approved for use by women.

Availability:
Rogaine is available without a prescription.

Usage
method: Rogaine is directly applied to the scalp. You do not
have to take it orally. Thus, its systemic side-effects (to whole body)
are minimum to none. So, men are relieved to know that it works without
altering male hormones.

What
is bad with Rogaine?

No
guarantee: Rogaine's manufacturer clearly states Rogaine does
not work for everyone and individual results will vary. A clinical test
showed about 55% of the men who used Rogaine obtained some improvement.
That means that 45% of the users will not see satisfactory improvement.

Not
good for forehead: Rogaine stimulates hair regrowth at the
top of the head, not at the forehead. Your hair loss affects primarily
forehead, Rogaine is not good for you.

Delayed
effect: Seeing some hair improvement, may take time. You
need to apply Rogaine 3 or 4 months to see it starts to work. So, just
knowing Rogaine is not good for you may cost you wasted money and time.

Continuous
treatment: Those who see some improvement then need to
maintain the medication to avoid losing any hair gained. Its maximum
allowed duration of usage is not known.

Some
scientific information about hair loss and use of Rogaine

Male androgenetic alopecia

Male pattern hair loss is the most common cause
of balding. The pathogenesis involves androgen, and in particular
dihydrotestosterone, binding to androgen receptors in the dermal
papilla of sensitive hair follicles. Hair follicle sensitivity is
genetically determined and shows regional specificity. Androgen
stimulation of scalp dermal papilla cells induces transforming growth
factor beta (TGF-B) and results in cyclical miniaturization of the
entire hair follicle. The resulting hair produced from that follicle is
shorter and finer and provides less complete scalp coverage. In
contrast androgen stimulation of beard dermal papilla cells produces
insulin growth factor -2 (IGF-2) and results in cyclical enlargement of
the entire hair follicle. The resulting hair produced from that
follicle is longer and thicker and provides more complete facial skin
coverage. Some degree of androgenetic alopecia is universal among
ageing men, especially bitemporally, however less than half become bald
in the Hippocratic sense. Although scalp hair coverage has little
functional importance, it has cosmetic significance. Baldness changes
the facial appearance of affected men. When that change is perceived as
adverse it has the potential to produce emotional morbidity.

Androgens have profound effects on scalp and
body hair in humans. Scalp hair grows constitutively in the absence of
androgens, while body hair growth is dependent on the action of
androgens. Androgenetic alopecia, referred to as male pattern hair loss
(MPHL) in men and female pattern hair loss (FPHL) in women, is due to
the progressive miniaturization of scalp hair. Observations in both
eunuchs, who have low levels of testicular androgens, and males with
genetic 5a-reductase (5aR) deficiency, who have low levels of
dihydrotestosterone (DHT), implicate DHT as a key androgen in the
pathogenesis of MPHL in men. The development of finasteride, a type
2-selective 5aR inhibitor, further advanced our understanding of the
role of DHT in the pathophysiology of scalp alopecia. Controlled
clinical trials with finasteride demonstrated improvements in scalp
hair growth in treated men associated with reductions in scalp DHT
content, and a trend towards reversal of scalp hair miniaturization was
evident by histopathologic evaluation of scalp biopsies. In contrast to
its beneficial effects in men, finasteride did not improve hair growth
in postmenopausal women with FPHL. Histopathological evaluation of
scalp biopsies confirmed that finasteride treatment produced no benefit
on scalp hair in these women. These findings suggest that MPHL and FPHL
are distinct clinical entities, with disparate pathophysiologies.
Studies that elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which androgens
regulate hair growth would provide greater understanding of these
differences.

In order to assess the efficacy and safety of a
new 5% minoxidil topical formulation in a propylene glycolefree foam
vehicle in men with androgenetic alopecia (AGA), Olsen et al conducted
this study. Their study was a 16-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled
trial of 5% minoxidil topical foam (MTF) in 352 men, 18 to 49 years
old. At week 16, 143 subjects continued on an open-label phase to
collect 52 weeks of safety information on 5% MTF. The researchers found
that at week 16 compared with baseline, there was a statistically
significant increase in (1) hair counts in the 5% MTF group versus
placebo (P \.0001) and (2) subjective assessment of improved hair loss
condition (P\.0001) in the 5% MTF group versus placebo. The 5% MTF was
well tolerated over a 52-week period. The researchers believe that 5%
MTF is a safe and effective treatment for men with AGA.